TRAGIC: Fourth Soldier Dies In Afghanistan To IED…

A fourth U.S. soldier has died in Afghanistan due to injuries he suffered after being hit by a roadside bomb blast last week, the Department of Defense has announced.

As the Washington Examiner reports, 24-year-old Sgt. Jason Mitchell McClary from Export, Pennsylvania was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Andar, Ghazni Province while supporting the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

McClary served in the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. He later died in Landstuhl, Germany after he was unable to recover from the injuries he suffered.

According to the report, McClary was highly decorated, receiving two Purple Hearts, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, and the Army Commendation Medal for Combat, and several other medal and awards.

“He epitomizes what it is to be a professional, a warrior and a soldier,” Lt. Col. Christopher Roberts, commander of 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, said, per the Washington Examiner. “Sgt. McClary served honorably as an up-armored vehicle gunner for the Attack Company. His memory and contributions will never be forgotten.”

Army Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin were identified as the service members who died as the result of an IED explosion on November 27. The Washington Examiner reports “Ross and Emond were Green Berets and Elchin was a combat controller with the 26th Special Tactics Squadron.”

USA Today reports two other soldiers died in November in Afghanistan, putting the yearly number to at least 12 U.S. service members:

An initial review indicates Jasso was probably accidentally shot by “our Afghan partner force,” the Army said. There were no indications he was shot intentionally. Jasso’s body arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Monday night.

On Nov. 3, National Guard Maj. Brent Taylor, 39, a married father of seven, was a victim of an insider attack. Taylor, killed by a member of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, had taken leave from serving as mayor of North Ogden, Utah, and was nearing completion of a one-year tour of duty.

After the initial news of the three American service members had died, Republican Senator Rand Paul pleaded, “Bring them home.”

There are 15,000 U.S. service members stationed in Afghanistan, the Washington Examiner reports. And, as of October 17, the conflict in the country has waged for 17 years. In that time, 2,400 U.S. troops have been killed.

The Hill TV reports President Trump is calling on Pakistan to help in the peace process to formally end the warring:

A retired Army general said in an interview Thursday that if anyone can bring the 17-year-long Afghanistan war to an end, it’s President Trump.